Press 2 to be taken off the list, and I wasn’t taken off the list. Press 1 to talk to a representative and ask to be taken off the list, and I wasn’t taken off the list. I’m not proud to admit what I did that finally worked: I started harassing them. Rather, I started berating the person behind Press 1. I don’t like being anything but nice to working schlubs. But these people do work for a disreputable company (or series of companies) offering bogus deals on auto reinsurance.

Berating them worked. It was the only thing that did.

Much as I enjoy berating people, it’s a fact that the recipients in this case are merely cogs; the big wheels never suffer any inconvenience at all. And ultimately, we’re never going to get rid of these jerks until there’s an understanding by the general public that everything is a scam until proven otherwise.

The recent trend away from landlines will help, I think; it’s a lot easier to tell someone to go fart up a flagpole if you’re having to pay for those wasted minutes.

5 comments

Yes, but then they start sending you text messages – and until you receive it, there is no way you can block the number it originates. Also, often those numbers are “unlisted” – and you’re stuck with overdraft of your available monthly TM, pay extra $20-30 and have no way of stopping it.

I wish my cell carrier would do what Google Voice does: allow me to block individual numbers. With GV I can also put a voicemail in a spam folder, though I don’t know exactly what consequences befall the source.

I’ll pretend a squad of goons pays them a visit in the Street View car and beats them to a pulp until someone proves otherwise. After all, Google’s “Don’t be evil” slogan is directed at others, to discourage competition (bet you didn’t know that).